Four months after losing Mike, we started noticing something uncomfortable.

We talk about grief every week.
But is talking the same as processing?

In this episode, we sit with that question. The point where the shock has faded, but you’re still learning how to live in a world that feels different.

We explore the difference between a bad day and a grief wave.
When reflection quietly becomes a loop.
Why small daily habits can feel like survival.
And what it actually means to live with loss instead of trying to get over it.

Trigger warning: This episode contains honest discussions regarding grief, bereavement, and mental health.

This isn’t a clinical conversation.
It’s two men trying to work out what’s helping and what might be keeping us stuck.

If this episode resonates, you’re not alone.

If you’re struggling:
UK Samaritans – 116 123
US – 988

New episodes every Wednesday.

How does grief change your identity? It doesn’t happen loudly or all at once. It happens quietly, stripping away pieces of who you used to be until you realise you’re no longer just "healing" - you’re trying to figure out who you are now.

Trigger warning: This episode contains honest discussions regarding grief, bereavement, and mental health.

In this week's podcast, we dive deep into identity grief and the "life audit" that follows a major loss.

We explore the internal shift that happens when the roles we once held - like being a sibling or a best friend - suddenly disappear.

In this episode, we discuss:

- Identity after loss: Why we feel like different people after a bereavement

- The Life Audit: Practical habits (walking, mindset, and health) to help process the "fog."

- Reinvention vs. Distillation: Why grief doesn't "change" you, it strips you back to your core.

- The Lone Sibling: Coping with the changing family roles after losing a brother or sister.

- Living in the Present: How to carry a legacy forward without staying "frozen in time.

"This isn’t a conversation about "getting over it" or rebuilding a new you. It’s about distillation, finding clarity in what remains when everything has been stripped back.

If you are struggling with your mental health after loss or wondering why you don't feel like "yourself" anymore, this conversation is for you.

If you’re struggling, please reach out.UK Samaritans 116 123US 988New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe to stay with the story.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

We are often told to "stay strong" and "hold it together" after a loss, but what happens when the adrenaline finally runs out?

In this episode, we explore the Adrenaline Hangover - that physical and mental crash that often hits months after a tragedy. We discuss why the traditional definition of male strength often leads to burnout, and why "out-disciplining" your grief is an impossible task.

From synchronised migraines to the reality of the 100-day wall, we’re breaking down why the hardest part of the journey often starts long after the funeral ends.

In this conversation:

• The physical toll of "performing" as if you're fine.

• Why your body crashes when the initial survival mode ends.

• Redefining strength as communication rather than silence.

• The legacy of "Mike’s Fence" and returning to our childhood roots.

If you’re struggling, please reach out.

UK Samaritans 116 123

US 988

Listen to all episodes:

https://linktr.ee/theconversationhestarted

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe to stay with the story.

Around a hundred days in, life starts asking more of you again.
More energy. More presence. More normality.
And grief doesn’t get lighter to meet it.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

In this episode we talk about why grief can feel harder once life carries on. When the shock fades but the weight stays the same. When people check in less. When tolerance drops. When everyday moments demand more than you have to give.

We talk about being a hundred days in. About the firsts you don’t prepare for. Birthdays and celebrations that feel heavier than expected. And the quiet guilt of not coping with what you think you should be able to handle by now.

This episode doesn’t offer solutions.
It sits in the part where life has picked back up and you’re still carrying the same thing, just with less room to carry it.

UK Samaritans 116 123
US 988

A “good year” used to mean progress.Plans. Momentum. Moving forward.After loss, that definition changes.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

In this episode we talk about how grief reshapes the idea of a good year. What goals used to look like. What they look like now. The pressure to aim, improve, and achieve, and how those expectations shift after someone dies.

We explore routine as an anchor rather than ambition. Looking ahead without forcing meaning. And where this leaves us as we move into a year that no longer fits the old framework.

This episode isn’t about motivation or optimism.It’s about recalibrating what “good” means when survival, steadiness, and presence start to matter more than progress.

If you’re questioning what a good year even looks like now, this episode is for you.

If you’re struggling, please reach out.

UK Samaritans 116 123

US 988

Listen to all episodes:https://linktr.ee/theconversationhestarted

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe to stay with the story.

The New Year arrived, but nothing felt new.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and loss.

We talk about why the New Year feels strange after loss. When “New Year, New Me” doesn’t fit, goals feel different, and the reset everyone talks about doesn’t land.

This episode names the disconnection between the calendar changing and grief staying exactly where it is.

UK Samaritans 116 123
US 988

Everyone thought we were OK.

Because we were functioning. We weren’t.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide.

This episode is about the stage of grief where life has resumed but the weight has not lifted. When support fades, messages slow down, and you start carrying everything quietly.

We talk about functioning without being OK, deciding not to bring it up, and what happens to the things you start holding in.

UK Samaritans 116 123

US 988

Christmas can amplify grief.
The build up. The pressure to be OK. The empty moments nobody sees.

Trigger warning: this episode discusses grief and suicide

In this special episode we talk about what Christmas really feels like after loss. The moments that catch you off guard, the guilt when you laugh, opting out when you need to, and what genuinely helped.

If this reaches you, follow the podcast so you don’t have to carry it alone.

Full video on YouTube. Clips on Instagram and TikTok.